How to Use antagonize in a Sentence

antagonize

verb
  • He didn't mean to antagonize you.
  • Her comments antagonized many people.
  • His aim was not to antagonize Africans, but to aid sailors.
    — Big Think, 2 Sep. 2025
  • Oh, Caitlin can clap at ya now, Caitlin can antagonize ya now.
    — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2025
  • Rollins is known for her bluntness, which wins her fans but can also antagonize.
    — Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2021
  • When asked who antagonized him, Doncic paused to scan the stat sheet in front of him.
    — Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • That's when the neighbor kept putting his arms out antagonizing the dog.
    — John Benson, cleveland.com, 1 June 2017
  • Elon seems to be going out of his way to antagonize this core audience.
    — Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, 20 Dec. 2022
  • The last casing appears to be a joke meant to antagonize or troll whoever reads it.
    — Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Fans spar for most of the year but really antagonize one another this week.
    — Scott Dochterman, ajc, 4 Sep. 2017
  • But both of them started playing back to the crowd, swatting the crowd away and antagonizing them.
    — EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023
  • The man who once did his share of antagonizing Crips is earning his karma back, and more.
    — Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2024
  • Yes, if the result is going to be antagonizing all the couple’s friends.
    — Miss Manners | Judith Martin, Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2023
  • Smith said Parks began to antagonize the occupants of the golf cart.
    — Bree Burkitt, azcentral, 10 July 2019
  • Pop was antagonizing the room, and being pelted with beer, whiskey bottles, bras, and shoes.
    — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2019
  • The Aztecs annoy and antagonize teams out of their flow, their comfort zone and, often, their on-court minds.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Mar. 2023
  • The question is how many of them are willing to openly antagonize Ryan by doing it.
    — Dara Lind, Vox, 9 May 2018
  • Most of the fans keep it light and engage in friendly banter rather than antagonize one another.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • If one of these ladies had knowingly invited her ex-husband just to antagonize her, all bets would’ve been off.
    — Shelby Stewart, Essence, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The best means of achieving control is to win back the hearts and minds of Hongkongers, not to continue to antagonize them.
    — Time, 2 July 2019
  • Markel said that while he and his wife, Christy, have been antagonized by wheelie riders, his view of the subgroup has changed over time.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
  • See photos of Brooks' antagonizing style of play in action.
    — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 19 Dec. 2025
  • Perhaps this was the wrong strategy, to antagonize the devil.
    — Karen Russell, The New Yorker, 4 June 2017
  • But the proposal also threatens to antagonize unions and voters in areas that depend on oil and gas for jobs.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, The Denver Post, 10 Sep. 2019
  • But Marquardt said police were unable to arrest him, and that the staff was afraid to antagonize him by taking him to court.
    — Adi Robertson, The Verge, 29 June 2018
  • Carrington has a history of antagonizing Clark and her fans in the past.
    — Ryan Morik, Fox News, 11 Oct. 2024
  • Instead, the campaign came to believe that Amy despised Hillary and then antagonized her.
    — Rachael Combe, The Cut, 20 Apr. 2018
  • Wearing a Marshmallow Man-like suit, he is instructed to antagonize a pooch, turn and run for his life.
    — Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 20 June 2024
  • Other fans have been openly antagonizing the hockey gods with ideas for the most Team Chaos-worthy way the record could fall.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Sometimes Mazikeen will use her size to antagonize her siblings, Maciel said.
    — Idaho Statesman, 4 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'antagonize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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